The Training Room: Week 10 Injury Updates

Russ is a Board Certified Sports Physical Therapist and Owner of MANA Performance Therapy in Rochester, NY. He has a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University at Buffalo as well as his Bachelors Degree in Exercise Science. His board certification credentials in sports is what is required for PT's that work at the NFL level. Russ provides a unique perspective on NFL injuries as they relate to fantasy football.

Week 9 has come and gone and some players who were on the injury report for Week 9 never came off of it and remain sidelined heading into Week 10. Bye weeks continue to play a factor so make sure you stay up to date with all the injury updates to help you prepare for Week 10!

This is shaping up to be a situation to avoid if you have Carson. Carson didn't practice all week and will be a game time decision. Even if Carson does play, he'll like be very limited in his usage as he continues to recover from a hip issue and has a pretty high injury risk considering he just re-aggravated the issue last week. Mike Davis needs to be owned and would probably be the better back to put into your lineups if you have the option.

Fournette was a full practice participant all week and is good to go for the Jaguars matchup with the Colts. Fournette does carry some injury risk specifically an in game aggravation, but the Jaguars staff have done everything they could to put him in position to be healthy for the stretch run.

Michel has practiced all week in a limited fashion and traveled with the team to Tennessee with the team. Michel will test out his knee prior to the game and the Patriots medical staff will determine if he is good to go. If Michel returns, he likely will be limited in his touches as the Patriots have a Week 11 bye so they might not want to force Michel into a heavy workload right before the bye.

The good news about Watkins' injury is that it is not related to his previous foot issues. Watkins is not expected to play in Week 10, but it sounds like the Chiefs are not expecting him to miss an extended time with the injury.

Flacco injured his hip against the Steelers and is apparently still having issues with it which is a cause for concern for the organization. It might a good timing as well to see what the Ravens have in Lamar Jackson. Flacco has played through injuries in the past, but it sounds like this injury could require an extended amount of time. The Ravens don't play until Week 11 when they face the Bengals, so we should have better clarity next week. But the fact that they are already talking about Flacco missing time means that you need to pick up Jackson asap.

Ivory was able to return to a limited practice status later in the week and somehow looks likely to play on Sunday. He'll likely wear a shoulder harness to protect his shoulder, but the expectation is that he'll be used along with Marcus Murphy behind LeSean McCoy.

Crowder continues to struggle with recovery from an ankle injury that he suffered in Week 5. He returned to practice this week which is an encouraging sign, but he could still be a week away from potentially returning.

Johnson was able to practice in limited fashion this week and is a game time decision. It sounds like Johnson should be able to suit up, but if he is not then you'll need to find a backup option. The Lions play in the early slate of games so you'll have the ability to adjust your roster once inactives come out.

Green will try and manage his toe injury conservatively as he is not a candidate for surgery. However, turf toe injuries can be difficult to return from in a timely manner due to the constant stress being put on the big toe when running and cutting. Green is likely to miss at least 2 games with the Bengals take a week to week approach likely after that.

Darnold is apparently dealing with a pretty significant foot sprain will is going to sideline him through the Week 11 bye and then he'll be re-evaluated. Foot issues can have a tendency to linger and although you're likely not using him in single QB re-draft formats, 2QB leagues I'd look to add McCown who has been a serviceable QB when healthy.